Oscar Luigi Scalfaro

Oscar Luigi Scalfaro (9 September 1918-29 January 2012) was President of Italy from 28 May 1992 to 15 May 1999, succeeding Francesco Cossiga and preceding Carlo Azeglio Ciampi. He was a member of Christian Democracy before joining the Democratic Party of Italy.

Biography
Oscar Luigi Scalfaro was born in Novara, Piedmont in 1918. An active Catholic, he joined the Constituent Assembly as a Christian Democracy member in 1946, and was subsequently a member of the Chamber of Deputies until 1992. He was vice-president of the Chamber from 1976 to 1983, and Minister of the Interior from 1983 to 1987. Following the elections in April 1992 he became president of the Chamber, and in May he was elected President. Hostile to Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, he encouraged opposition to him as far as he could and welcomed his resignation in 1994. His mandate ended in 1999, and he became a Senator for life. He later joined the Democratic Party of Italy, one of the successors of Christian Democracy. He died in 2012.